35 LATHE CYCLES In the last chapter, several lathe procedures described programming of a turning and boring tool path, A number Of different techniques have been introduced, mainly de- scribing the finishing tool path. Virtually no attention has yet been given to the removal of an excessive stock, in such ‘operations as rough turning and rough boring. ILisa subject ints own right and this chapter describes vatious methods of stock removal for roughing and finishing. STOCK REMOVAL ON LATHES (One of the most time consuming tasks in manual pro- gramming for a CNC lathe is the removal of an excessive stock, typically from a cylindrical material, known as rough turning or rough boring - or simply roughing, ‘To manually program a roughing tool path requires a se ries of coordinated rough passes, with one block of pro- gram for each tool motion, For roughing of a complex con- ‘our, such a method is extremely time consuming and very inefficient, as well as prone to errors. Some programmers tty to sacrifice programming quality for speed, by leaving. an uneven stock for finishing, causing the cutting tool (0 ‘Wear out prematurely, The surface roughness of the fin- ished profile often suffers as well Itis in the area of rough stock removal where the modem lathe controls are very useful and convenient. Almost all ‘CNC lathe systems have a feature tha allows the roughing tool path to be processed automatically, using special c)- cles. Roughing is not the only application for these cycles, there are also special cycles available for threading and simple grooving. The grooving and threading cycles are ‘outside ofthis chapter, but wll be covered in detail in the next three chapters, + Simple Cycles Fanuc and similar controls support a number of special lathe cycles. There are three rather simple cycles that have been part of Fanuc controls for quite a while. They frst ap- peared with the early CNC units and were limited by the technological progress of the time, Various manuals and textbooks refer to them as the Fixed Cycles or Simple Cycles or even Canned Cycles, similar in nature to their cousins for drilling operations on CNC mills and machin. ing centers. Two of these early cycles are used for turning, and boring, the thd cycle isa very simple threading cycle ‘This chapter covers the firs wo eyeles * Complex Cycles With the advancement of computer technology, control manufacturers have develope culling cycles capable of very complex lathe operations and made them an integral part of the lathe control systems. These special cycles are called by Fanuc the Multiple Repetitive Cycles. Theit major improvement over simple cycles isin their excellent flexi- bility. Some of these advanced eycles cover tuning and boring, others grooving and threading Don’t get misled by the description ‘complex'- these ey- cles are only complex in the mathematical sense and even then, only internally. They are complex within the control system only. Infact, these very advanced machining cycles are much easier fo program than their simple predecessors Inaddition, they can also be very easily changed at the ma- chine control, to optimize them for best performance, right ‘on the job, PRINCIPLES OF LATHE CYCLES Similar to drilling operations for CNC machining cen- ters, all eycles for lathes are based on the same technolog! cal principles. The programmer only enters the everall data (ypically variable cutting parameters), and the CNC sys- tem will calculate the details of individual cuts, These ca culations are based on the combination of the fixed and ‘variable data. Return too! motions in ll these cycles are au- tomatic, and only the values to be changed are specified within the eycle call, ‘Simple eycles are designed exclusively to cut a straight cut, with no chamfer, tapers or radii and also with no un- dercuts. The simple cycles can only be used to cut verti- cally, horizontally, or at an angle, for taper cutting. These ‘original cycles cannot do the same cutting operations as the more modern and advanced multiple repetitive cycles - for ‘example, they cannot rough out a radius or change diree- tion of the cutting. Simply, they cannot contour. In the category of simple turning cycles, there are two that do allow removal of rough stock from a cylindrical or ‘conical part. Each block o these cycles replaces four regu Jar blocks of the part program, In the category of multiple repetitive cycles, there are several cycles designed for com- plex roughing, one for finishing, as well as cycles for ‘grooving and threading, Multiple repetitive cyeles are ca- pable of some very complex contouring, 307308 G90 - STRAIGHT CUTTING CYCLE Before going further, a reminder. Do not confuse G90 for lathes with G90 for machining centers. In turning, G90 is a lathe eyele, G90 is the absolute mode in milling: (G80 is absolute mode for miling, X and axes are absolute made for turing 81 i incremental mode for miling, and W axes ae incremental made for tuning A cycle identified by G90 preparatory command (Type A group of G coxes) is called the Straight Cutting Cycle (Box ‘pele Its purpose is to remove excessive stock between the start position ofthe cutting tool and the coordinates speci- fied by the X and the Z axes. The resulting cut isa straight turning or boring cut, normally parallel othe spindle cen- terline andthe Z axis i the main cutting axis As the name of thecycle suggests, the GOO cycles used primarily for re- moving a stock in a rectangular fashion (box shape). The G90 cycle can also be used for a taper cuiting. In Figure 35-1, the eycle structure and motions are illusrated. Figure 35-1 690 simple cycle structure straight cutig analetion © Cycle Format ‘The G90 cutting cycle has two predetermined pro gramming formats. The first oe is for straight cutting only, along the Z axis, as illustrated in Figure 35-1 Format 1: {690 X(U)...2(W)..F. ee where Diameter to be cut Endof cut inZ positon Cutting feedrate (usually infrov ormmirov) Chapter 35 ‘The second format adds the parameter I or K to the block. and is designed for taper cutting motions, with the domi- nance of the Z axis - Figure 35-2. Figue 35-2 690 cyte stuctire- taper cuting application (2 Format 2 (two versions) 630 Mt: 2 X = Diameterto be cut 2 = EndoteutinZ poston TR) = Distance andthe direction of taper ((=0 oF R=0 for straight cutng) Cutting fedrate (usualy inev or mmev) In both examples, the designation of axes as X and Z is used for the absolute programming, indicating the tool po- sition from program zero, The designation of axes as U and Wis used forthe incremental programming, indicating ac- tual travel distance of the tool from the current position. ‘The Faddressis the cutting feedrate, normally in inches per revolution or millimeters per revolution. The T address is used for taper cuting along the horizontal direction. Ithas ‘an amount equivalent to one half of the distance from the ‘diameter at the taper end, tothe diameter atthe taper begin- ning. The R address replaces the I address, and is available ‘on newer controls only. To cancel the G90 cycle, all that is necessary to do is to tuse any motion command ~ GOO, GOI, G02 or GOS, Com- ‘monly, it will be the GOO rapid motion command: 630 x(n). ZWD .. Tee Fe G00.LATHE CYCLES © Straight Ti ng Example ‘Tp illustrate a practical application of G90 cycle, study Figure 35-3. It shows rather a simple diameter turning, from a 24.125 inch stock down toa final 22.22 inch, over the length of 2.56 inches. There are no chamlers, no tapers, and no radii. This fact restricts the practical usefulness of the G9 cycle toa very simple roughing only, but still beats the manual alternative. 04.125 L 375 | Fiore 35-3 ‘Example of 680 oye straight cuting- programs 03501 6 09502 ‘Since G90 isa roughing cycle, the depth of each cut has tobe selected first, then the stock amount left for finishing. TTo decide on the depth of each cut, find out how much stock is actually there to be removed from the diameter. ‘The actual amount of stock is calculated per side, as ara- dius value, along the X axis: (4.325 = 2.22) / 2 = 9825 For a .030 stock per side for the finishing cut, the .030 will be subtracted from the total X stock, so the total depth amount to remove will be.9225. Nextis the selection of cut segmentation for the total depth. For five even cuts, each depth of cut will be 1845, for six cuts, 1538. Six cuts will be selected and .030 left per side, of 0.06 on the diameter - the first diameter will be X3.8175, Also, .005 stock allow- ance will be let on the face, so the Z axis end of cut will be at Z.2.555. The actual clearance above the diameter and in front ofthe part will be the usta .100. osso2 (G90 STRAIGHT TURNING CYCLE - ABSOLUTE) m1 @20, MB G96 $450 103 NA GOO 44.325 20.1 T0101 mos (START POINT) NS G90 x3.8175 2-2.555 FO.01 (PASS 1) N6 33.51, (pass 2) NT 33.2025 (Pass 3) No 22.095 (ras 4) Np 32.5875 (PASS 5) 309 mao x9.28 (ensa 6) N11 GOO X10.0 72.0 T0100 Moo x2 ML (mm oF ROUGHING) If preferred, use the incremental programming method. However, itis easier to trace the program progress with the absolute coordinates than the incremental distances. How ever, here is the incremental version: 2 T0100 waa NB 096 $450 03 Ni 14 G00 x4.325 20.1 T0201 Mos (START POINT) 5 G90 U-0.5075 W-2.655 FO.0L (Pass 1D) 6 U-0.3075 (pass 2) 7 U-0.3075 (ass 3) NB U-0.3075 (ras NB -0.3075 (ass 5) Mo U-0.3075 (ass 6) NLL G00 xi0.0 22.0 T0100 mos ma wel (aw oF RovaunNG) ‘This cycle is quite simple in both versions ~ all that is, needed is to calculate the new diameter for each roughing cut, Ifthe same roughing tool path had been programmed using the block-by-block method (without G90), the final Program would be more than three times longer, © Taper Cutting Example “The Figure 35-4 is a drawing similar to that used forthe previous example. In this example, a taper will be cut, also using the G9O simple cycle, 240 22.25 ae - 375 - Fioue 35-8 Example of 680 cyclin taporcuting- program 03802 In order to distinguish between the straight cutting and the taper cutting methods, using the same G90 cycle, there must be a way to distinguish Urese wy kinds Of cul, anid there is one indeed,